IMF intervention - A general election is needed now

It was a very sad reflection on the state of our politics that the main emotional response of our people to the news that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union were taking over control of our economic structures was not a sense of shame or embarrassment but general relief that somebody is at last going to assume responsibility for taking the necessary hard decisions.

One public opinion poll over the weekend found that 63% of people of the country welcome the IMF’s intervention. This must be the most damning indictment of any government in our history – a solid majority of people are welcoming the assumption of our sovereign powers by an outside agency.

Who elected the people of the IMF? Nobody elected them. Members of our Government have essentially decided to hand over our sovereignty in these matters because they lacked the courage to do what was necessary themselves.